East Carolina as hungry for win as UConn heading into late-season clash

East Carolina coach Scottie Montgomery talks with quarterback Holton Ahlers and running back Hussein Howe during a game against Central Florida in Greenville, N.C. (Karl B DeBlaker / Associated Press)

UConn’s football game at East Carolina on Saturday won’t matter for the American Athletic Conference standings, as both teams stand 0-6 in league play.

But that doesn’t mean the contest doesn’t have stakes. The Huskies and Pirates both know they’re running out of chances to wring positive results out of disappointing seasons.

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“Both teams will be really, really hungry and thirsty for a conference win,” East Carolina coach Scottie Montgomery said Monday on an AAC conference call. “It’s always important against conference opponents to get victories. For both teams, there have been some close games and situations where you would like to come out ahead, but you’ve got to put it together.”

East Carolina (2-7) has lost five games in a row, while UConn (1-9) has dropped seven straight, leaving the two teams tied for last in the AAC’s East Division.

More so than the Huskies, whose losses have rarely been close, East Carolina has watched winnable games slip away this season. The Pirates lost by five points to North Carolina A&T, by seven points to South Florida and, most recently, by six points to Tulane.

“We’ve been in three games this year where we’ve lost by a touchdown or less, and those opportunities don’t come a lot,” Montgomery said. “So when you have an opportunity to win games, whether it’s an in-conference opponent or out-of-conference opponent, but especially if it’s a divisional opponent, you’ve got to want to go get that done.”

Despite being 18-point underdogs to East Carolina, UConn and its fans likely view Saturday’s game as the Huskies’ last best chance for a conference victory. After facing the Pirates, UConn will close the year against Temple, which stands 5-1 in conference play.

Still, Edsall laughed Monday when asked whether he had been looking ahead to the East Carolina game as a chance for a win.

“If you think we’re looking ahead, you’ve got be kidding me,” Edsall said. “The challenge for us, try to win each week and try to get better and try to develop the things we need to develop in our program. I don’t look ahead. We’re not good enough to look ahead.”

For the fourth time in as many conference road games, UConn will kick off at 7 p.m. against East Carolina on Saturday. Edsall, who has complained before about the late starts, reiterated his gripe Monday.

“Our kids don’t get [back to Storrs] until between 1:30 and 4:30 at night,” Edsall said. “That’s tough on the student-athletes, especially when you talk about student-athlete welfare.”